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#WBW = Write Bloody Wednesday — #9: Brian Ellis

Continuing my series on my favorite Write Bloody poets… In case you hadn’t noticed over the weeks, I started off with the poets that I have had the pleasure of meeting personally. This week is no exception!

Brian EllisEllis began performing for audiences in spring 2006. Since then he has been on the the Cantab Lounge Poetry Slam team twice and has represented the Cantab at the individual world poetry slam. He is a local slam champion and has been featured at poetry venues from New England to various regions of the U.S.

When my life was much more normal (meaning I had a regular day job and disposable income), I would go to EVERY poetry event in the Phoenix, AZ area. This is how I came to be friends with a LOT of local poets who were serious about there craft and would compete in slams and go to the National Poetry Slam nearly every summer. Well in this slam circle there were names that would get spoken with reverence and respect. One of those names was Brian Ellis.

Brian was one of the many poets I heard how good he was long before I ever read a word of his work. Then came my joining of the MySpace community and the chance to connect as a fan to this poet. Eventually he came to our humble valley and performed at one of my favorite spots A Shot of Java coffee shop in downtown Glendale, AZ. This delicate looking young man tore us all a new poetic perspective with the power of his feature performance that night and (as I’m sure you can guess if you have been reading the past weeks) I *had* to get his book from him. Such an amazing writer!

Sadly, I have not been able to repeat my experience since then, but fortunately there is always his book(s) and YouTube videos to tide me over.